


A Name Not to be Forgotten

by TheThoughtsThief



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Child Neglect, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Social Anxiety, fictional universe but also not really, i'm really not sure about ships rn but there will probs be more in the future, there's a lot of real life influences
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-19 18:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4756925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheThoughtsThief/pseuds/TheThoughtsThief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where names are all you are and all you have, where your stolen identity is a death sentence, illegal magic dances through the streets. Hinata Shouyou and Kuroo Tetsurou were the only names Kenma has ever cared for.</p><p>Their names wait on a list of names to be stolen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Adventure

Hinata Shouyou and Kuroo Tetsurou.

These were the first people to tell Kenma their full names.

Kuro’s name he had to earn, and it took almost a year before they fully trusted each other with something like that, almost a year before Kuro decided to tell him. Kenma had just turned thirteen back then, and he was sitting on the floor of what he couldn't really call a home, but rather a safe place to stay at when his own house wasn't. His friend was sitting next to him, so close he could feel his breath and hear the smile on his lips when he said it, his voice so soft it was barely a whisper.

“Tetsurou."

To which he replied, “Kenma.”

Words of trust in a silent room, and suddenly Kuro was not just his only friend, but his best friend.

Shouyou, on the other hand, blurted out his full name right away. As dangerous as it was giving names away, Shouyou didn't seem to care. He trusted Kenma before he even knew him. Maybe he did so because Kenma didn't look like the type to use someone’s name. Maybe he was just plain stupid. Kenma didn't know and didn't care to find out, because even if the responsibility of knowing someone’s name was bigger than him, he didn't mind Shouyou giving his away, and he didn't mind doing the same in return.

“Aren't you curious?” Shouyou asked him once, sitting on the floor of his bedroom with Kenma on the bed, doing anything but the studying the promised to do. “About name stealing?”

“Not really,” he said.

“But imagine what you could do if you could, like, use names. Control people. All that stuff.”

“I wouldn't do anything, ‘cause it’s illegal.”

Shouyou said nothing in return and just frowned at him for not playing along. Kenma sighed, and sat upright on Shouyou’s bed, turning to look at him. “What would you do?” he asked.

“I’d use it to get the hell out of here, go to Janmill again or Oslyn or something. Maybe even overseas."

“Then what?”

“Dunno.”

“And what about your mom? And Natsu?”

“...Dunno.”

“You could probably go overseas without using illegal magic,” Kenma said, and Shouyou just laughed.

“Aww, Kenma, you’re no fun.”

“Hmm.”

“You could come with me if you want, though,” he continued. “We can run away together. Like on an adventure.” He looked at Kenma with the biggest smile, eyes sparkling. And Kenma just smiled back.

Kenma was always grateful for Shouyou sticking around, even though sometimes he felt like he didn't deserve someone like him in his life, like he didn't deserve his love, his friendship, his constant smile- brighter than a million suns. Sometimes he couldn't even handle Shouyou and his endless energy, the way it drained him of his own. Kuro would give Kenma some time to sit by himself when he was upset or tired, but Shouyou would talk him to death if he seemed to be too quiet. He was a splash of yellow when Kenma felt colorless; he was childish dreams and an innocent smile, promises of adventures and a name he could never forget.

He was the beginning.

 

*

 

Kenma looked out of the window next to his seat, staring blankly at the people still standing at the train station as it disappeared behind them. There were more people than usual today, though Kenma didn't know why. It was just another Wednesday, nothing special about it. He thought that maybe they were running away too, using the magic festival as an excuse to get away from work and school, just like them.

Kuro was with him at the station a few minutes ago as well. He came with him to wish them a safe trip, and reminded Kenma to call him once they get there before running off to get to work on time. Kenma hoped he won’t get himself fired for being late again. That lame excuse for a charm shop was his second job in the past six months, and Kuro really couldn't afford to lose it right now, even if it barely paid enough to cover his rent.

The problem wasn't that Kuro was being irresponsible, though. It was just that his friend worried too much about him, and Kenma really didn't need to be worried about. It wasn't his first time on the train and it wasn't going to be his first time out of the city. It wasn't the first time he ran away from home, and even if it was, he had Shouyou there with him. He was fine.

“Whatcha looking at?”

Kenma glanced at Shouyou for the first time since they sat down, realizing he had been spacing out for quite some time.

“Uh, nothing,” Kenma said. “Just got distracted.”

“Oh.” Shouyou said, sounding somewhat disappointed. he looked down to the backpack in Kenma’s lap and frowned at him. “Do you have anything in there? It looks kinda empty. I mean, I can ask Tanaka-san to lend you some clothes, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be too big on you, and-”

“I told you I won’t be staying at Janmill for long.”

Shouyou fell silent for a moment. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Kenma said, looking at him and then away again. He didn't really like being away from home, though he didn't expect Shouyou to understand why. He decided to come along with him only because he practically begged him to. “You shouldn't stay for long, either. You’re skipping school too much lately.”

Shouyou frowned at him, because he changed the subject or because he brought up school, or maybe both. “So what? It’s not like I’ll pass any of my classes anyway, y’know?”

“You can ask for help.”

“It’s not that important.”

“Going to Janmill is? What if your mom finds out?”

“She won’t! I told her I’m staying at a friend’s for a few days.”

“Oh, it’s not even a lie. I’m kinda impressed,” Kenma said, but after Shouyou didn't reply he apologized, voice so quiet it made him cringe. 

“Let’s just… Let’s not talk about that now, okay?” Shouyou smiled at him.

Kenma nodded slowly, forcing a smile on his face as well. “Yeah,” he said. “Right now we’re going on an adventure.”

 

 

 

Kuroo woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

He sat up on the bed, blinking and confused. For a moment he didn’t understand what was going on. It was still dark outside his window, and inside his room, and the only light came from the flashing cell phone on the desk. He got to his feet and stumbled across the room to answer it, and when he looked at the screen it told him that it was only 01:16.

He’d been asleep for only about an hour.

Kuroo sighed, brushing his hair away from his face only for it to fall on his forehead again. He looked at the number on the screen for a moment longer before he picked up his phone.

“Hello?”

“It’s me,” Kenma said, and his muffled voice was even harder to hear with the noise in the background. He couldn’t be calling him if he was still on the train, though, so they were probably at the train station already.

“You’re at Janmill?” Kuroo asked.

“Yeah, just got there.”

“That buzz-cut guy is meeting you, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, and then fell silent for a moment. “Did I wake you up?”

“Kenma, it’s 1am.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kuroo said. “What about you? everything okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“And Shorty?”

“Fine. Everything’s fine. Stop worrying,” he said in annoyance. Kuroo wanted to say that he had pretty good reasons for being worried but Kenma was quick to change the subject. “Did you get to work on time today?”

“Barely.”

“Were they mad at you?”

“Not really, just told me I shouldn’t be so careless next time,” he answered, and after a moment he added, “Don’t feel bad about it, it wasn’t your fault.”

“It kinda was.”

“It wasn’t. I swear.”

“...Right.”

Kuroo sighed. He ran a hand through his messy hair again and looked from the desk to his bed, and to the black skies outside the window. “Listen, it’s late and i have work in the morning. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Good night.”

Kenma hung up before he could respond, and Kuroo was once again alone. He was tired and really did need to get some sleep before his shift tomorrow, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to bed for he knew falling asleep again would be impossible. So he stood in his place and stared aimlessly at the floor where his college textbooks were still open on random pages.

An empty mattress was still leaning against the wall, because Kenma didn’t like sleeping on the couch in the other room, or in his own house for that matter. 

Kuroo didn’t really mind Kenma sleeping in his apartment, since he knew that otherwise he’d end up spending the night at some bus station. Lately, though, it seemed that he never really went back to his own house. And Kuroo was worried about him, whether Kenma liked it or not. Tonight Kenma wasn’t there with him, he was somewhere in Janmill with Shorty and some strangers he didn’t even know that well. He was running away again, from his home or his parents or whatever it was this time. He was running away, that was all he really knew and it made him worry about him even more. he had his reasons.

After a few minutes Kuroo went back to bed, awaiting another sleepless night.

 

 

 

Kenma was sitting at the backseat of the car, gazing at the pavement and the parked cars outside the window. Cars drove alongside them even though the late hour and people were walking along the road on their way home, or perhaps looking for a place where they can drink their worries away. The yellow streetlights and flashing neon signs made the night look somewhat gloomy and washed out, and made Kenma feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Shouyou sat in the passenger seat so he could talk with Tanaka, and Kenma was happy for the opportunity to hide in silence behind them and just listen. Shouyou ranted about something he couldn’t really keep track of, occasionally getting interrupted by loud comments and obnoxious bursts of laughter from Tanaka. Kenma started to think that he was even louder than Shouyou, which was a pretty impressive accomplishment.

Kenma could see how Shouyou could get along with someone like him- they were both so loud and filled with energy that never seemed to end, even when Kenma himself felt tired as hell. And yeah, Tanaka was just as friendly and brotherly as Shouyou described him to be, but Kenma was afraid that he might just crash the car.

“Hey, you in the back!" a voice startled him back into reality and away from his hiding place, and he looked from the glowing streetlights outside to the front seats. Tanaka glanced at him, smiling, before turning to look at the road again. "I didn’t catch your name earlier."

“Huh?”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna," he said. "But I need to call you something, y’know?”

Kenma thought about it for a moment before answering with his last name, and the Tanaka smiled in response. “Kosume-kun, then? You can just call me Tanaka. But not so much in public, yeah?”

“Uh, sure.”

“So is this your first time in Janmill?” he asked him.

“Umm, no,” Kenma said. “I think it’s the fifth time.”

“Really?” Tanaka sounded surprised. “Hinata told me you don’t like moving much.”

“I don’t, really...”

“Took me a week to convince him to come to the festival tomorrow,” Shouyou said.

“Seriously?” Tanaka asked and Kenma started to feel more annoyed rather than uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t even dream of missing it! It’s only once every, what? two years? you know that, right?”

“I’m not that much into street magic.”

“I’d at least come for the food.”

“I’m not that much into food, either.”

“I just wanna see a live performance,” Shouyou said, turning in his seat to look at Kenma with a wide smile and those big annoying eyes of his. “I’ve never seen any cool spells in real life.”

“Don’t they teach spells and stuff at your school?” Tanaka asked. “I remember studying it for a month or so before moving to Janmill with nee-chan.”

“Nah, they don’t teach it anymore.”

“Ah, really? What’s the point of going to school, then?” he said, and Shouyou just smiled nervously. Did Shouyou not tell him he never really goes to school anyway? Doesn’t he know he’s missing classes for that stupid festival? Kenma wasn’t too surprised, to be honest. “Well, nee-chan taught me some new fire tricks, so i can show you them if you want.”

Shouyou’s face lit up right away, and he started yelling again.

“Yeah! Show me, Tanaka-senpai!”

“Wait ‘till we get home first!” Tanska said, but his smile only grew bigger. “And keep calling me senpai. It's been a while.”

“Senpai!”

Fewer cars drove past them now, no longer stores and clubs and shopping centers with too many lights and too many signs and too many people, but silent neighborhoods with silent roads and silent houses, and a car filled with loud voices and high pitched laughter and a radio on full volume. Kenma still felt like stranger to this city, to these people, but right now he couldn’t help but feel like he belonged.


	2. Like a Lighter

The house smelled of fried food- something familiar that Kenma couldn’t recognize at first but made his stomach growl nevertheless, even if he could have sworn he smelled smoke as well. Only after he took off his shoes did he notice another smell, though, one that stuck to the air around them like glue to paper, so sickeningly sweet it almost made him dizzy. Kenma didn’t think it belonged to anything edible.

“Ah, nee-chan’s back!” Tanaka said, slamming the door shut behind him and walking past Kenma and Shouyou, not even bothering with his shoes, before he suddenly stopped. “Is it just me or does it smell like something’s burning?”

“Ryu!” a yell came from somewhere in the house, voice loud and clear even over the unmistakable sound of pans and pots smashing together and other various things falling to the floor. “You didn’t crash the car, right?”

“Of course not! Did you burn something in the kitchen?”

“No! Well, not the food! Just give a minute, I’ll be right there!”

“We’ll be in the spare room!” He yelled in return before he remembered to kick his shoes off and turned to look at Kenma and Shouyou. “C’mon, let’s go,” he said. “if nee-chan messed up a potion we should stay away from the kitchen for a little while.”

He put one arm around Shouyou’s shoulders and the other on Kenma’s back, pushing them down the hall and away from the sticky smell at the front door. Kenma wondered what kind of potion Tanaka’s sister could’ve been working on and if it was supposed to make him want to puke out his lunch, but he didn’t dare to ask.

Tanaka showed them to a room at the end of the hall, stumbling inside with Shouyou still under his arm. He turned on the lights and Kenma stayed at the door for a moment and looked around- at the white walls and the white floors, the single window closed behind blue curtains, their color already fading. The place wasn’t much smaller than Kuro’s bedroom back home, though definitely cleaner. It was big enough to fit a bed and a mattress in it, maybe a small table or a desk, but it was too small for anything more.

“Sorry it’s nothing too fancy,” Tanaka said. “One of you will have to sleep on a futon.”

“It’s alright,” Shouyou reassured him with a smile. “We can take turns, or share. Right?”

“Hmm.”

Tanaka smiled back, looking somewhat embarrassed, maybe even a little bit relieved. He let go of Shouyou and turned to look at the door where Kenma stood. “Anyway, I know it’s pretty late, but if you guys are hungry just say it, looks like nee-chan made some food. I’m gonna go check if she needs help with... whatever happened there.”

Kenma waited for Tanaka to leave before he stepped inside, pushing the door to a close behind him. He dropped his backpack on the floor before sitting down on the bed and falling on his back. he was way too tired, and he wanted to sleep, but he just stared at the ceiling instead.

“Hey, you okay?” Shouyou asked, blinking at him. He put his bag on the floor and sat down on the bed next to him, crossing his legs over the covers. He looked at Kenma, smiling like he always did, and Kenma wondered how he could look so happy at two in the morning after spending the whole afternoon on a train. He wondered how Shouyou could seem so big when in reality he was so small, because Kenma could never smile the way he does, so brightly it’s almost blinding. He could never be like that, could never understand how anyone could. Being Hinata Shouyou seemed like so much work and Kenma was just way too lazy.

“I’m okay,” Kenma said eventually. “Just tired.”

“It is pretty late, isn’t it?” Shouyou said. “I feel like I’ll never be able to sleep again, though.”

“Excited?”

“You have no idea.”

Kenma hummed to himself, thinking that he had, at least to some extent. Shutting Shouyou up was hard enough as is, and even more so when he was nervous. “Have you ever been to one of those magic festivals before?” he asked.

“Once, with my dad,” he answered, falling on the bed to lie on his back next to Kenma, eyes fixed on the ceiling and arms spread out to his sides. His fingertips brushed against Kenma's sweater and poked at his stomach. “Before Natsu was born. I was really young back then, so I don’t remember a lot... I remember I liked it, but that’s about it.”

“Sounds nice.”

“How about you? Ever been to anything like it?”

“No, never. But I don’t really care about that stuff anyway.”

“I bet you’ll like it tomorrow.”

“Maybe.”

“You will,” he insisted, turning on his side to look at Kenma with a serious face. “I’ll make sure that by the end of the night you’ll say ‘You’re right, Shouyou, I’m so glad you dragged me all the way here. You’re so smart.’” Kenma laughed, and Shouyou hit his arm.

“Alright, alright, I believe you.”

“Good!” Shouyou said, nodding to himself. “Now let’s go check if we can go near the kitchen. I’m starving.”

“It’s 2am, Shouyou.”

“Early breakfast! C’mon, onee-chan makes the best Tamago gohan.”

 

 

 

The smell from Saeko’s potion wasn’t as strong when they woke up the next day, but it was still present whenever Kenma stepped into the kitchen or the living room, sweet and out of place. Saeko told them she was just trying out a new recipe, that it was supposed to be a love potion of some kind. Something went wrong, though, and well, that happened. Tanaka told him it was something to be expected when living with a brewer in training, but it seemed so weird in Kenma’s eyes.

Kenma could tell that the house was just flowing with magic, even without the smell of potions attacking him the moment he opens a door. It was the unfamiliar spices and powders, small bottles with weird titles imprinted on them in place of silverware. It was the good luck charms lying around in the living room and hanging from windows, it was Shouyou and the Tanaka siblings talking about spells and potions like a close friend, like it’s always there. And when Tanaka turned off the lights in the living room and sat on the floor in front of Shouyou, it was both their smiles, and the promise Tanaka made last night in the car.

“You hold up your fingers like this, and then just breath.” Tanaka held his thumb and index finger to his mouth, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before blowing into his hand. He did so the same way that he would flick on a lighter or light up a match, with the same ease of holding down the gas button and letting the fire do the rest. When a small flame flickered between Tanaka’s fingers it didn’t feel like magic, even though it definitely looked like it. Yet the fire was there, illuminating yellow lights on Tanaka’s and Shouyou’s faces, so very fragile that Kenma feared that if either of them only so much as breaths it would disappear.

Kenma saw magic tricks before. He saw them on TV and in video games, heard of them from kids who would travel around the country just to see a performance or a street caster. Still, Kenma always saw magic as something so very distant and unapproachable, even when it was no more than a party trick or one of his classmates trying to cheat in a test. It felt surreal, looking at live magic from up close for what was likely to be the first time. It wasn’t even performed by a professional caster, but by some guy who didn’t even have licence to practice serious magic, sat on the floor in a living room.

And then Tanaka moved his hand and the flame was gone, just like that.

“Wah!” Shouyou said. “That was so cool!”

“Wasn’t it?” Tanaka said, smiling. He sounded prouder than he should be over a simple elemental trick. “Got it on my first try, if you can believe it. Almost set the house on fire.”

“How can you make fire by breathing?” Kenma asked.

“You make magic by breathing,” Tanaka said. “And you use the magic to manipulate your environment and create shit. The breathing part isn’t that hard, really. All you need to do is, well, breath. and I’ve been doing that my whole life, y’know?”

“Teach me how to do that!” Shouyou said. “Please!”

“Ah, Hinata, I don’t know if I should let you play with fire.”

“Didn’t you say you almost burned down the house?” Kenma said.

Tanaka tried to argue, but he really wasn’t one to talk. He gave in after a few minutes, and they sat in the dark for a while longer, Shouyou trying to create even the smallest of sparks while Kenma just watched. And he figured that magic was pretty interesting after all.

 

 

 

When Kuro called Kenma was lying on the bad in the spare room. On their first night Shouyou was the one to sleep in it, so right now the covers were messy and disorganized and not all that comfortable. The mattress was hard, but still softer than the futon he slept on, and Kenma could feel himself drifting away and falling asleep. The sound of his phone ringing pulled him back into reality.

“Hey, Kenma?” Kuro said, voice muffled because of the noise on his side of the line. “It’s me.”

“Hey,” Kenma said.

“I just got off work, so I have some free time before I get back to college. How’re you doing?”

“I forgot my PSP at your place.”

“So... not too good?”

“No, I-” Kenma sighed. He sat up on the bed and stretched to look outside the open door. There was no one there, though he could hear Shouyou’s talking somewhere near. He was in the kitchen, probably, voice loud enough to be heard over the rattling dishes. “I’m fine, just… a bit uncomfortable? There’s magic everywhere. I’m not used to this.”

“Well, could be good for you, I guess,” Kuro said. “Getting out of your comfort zone and all that.”

“I don’t think so.”

There was a moment of silence before Kuro spoke again, this time more carefully. “You can just not go if you don’t want to go, you know?” he said. “You didn’t have to come with Shorty.”

“Shouyou said it’ll be fun, the festival.” Kenma said. “And I have a few days off school anyway, so… I wanted to go. Once, for him. Shouyou really wanted me to come.”

“...I see.”

“I’m going home on Sunday, though, don’t worry.”

“Home, you mean camping in my apartment again? Or are you going back to your parents?”

“Last time I went home my mom locked me outside again, so... I don’t know.”

“You can sleep in my place again if you don’t want to go back there, I really don’t mind. It’s kinda weird when you’re not here, to be honest. Real boring.”

Kenma snorted. “Stop lying.”

“I’m not kidding, your silence is different than this silence.”

“Stop.”

“It’s like you especially make sure to never talk around me, ever.”

“Stop. You’re not funny.”

“I’m always funny.”

“You’re never funny.”

“Well, you’re not getting your PSP back.”

“Ha-ha.”

“See? I'm hilarious,” he laughed, and his laughter sounded somehow weird coming through the phone, like he was just faking it. But then when when his laughter died Kenma could still hear the smile in his voice. “Seriously, though, If you’re uncomfortable, just… take it easy, yeah? Try to look at the better side of things.”

Kenma was quiet for a second too long before he answered. 

“Sure.”


	3. The End of the World

The week Shouyou’s dad died was the same week Shouyou got into a fight for the first time. He couldn’t really remember what caused the fight, but he did remember how upset and mad he was, what the first punch felt like and how much it hurt his hand. His second fight came soon after, the third and the fourth no more than a week’s time apart, as well as the fifth and the sixth and the seventh. The only fight he clearly remembers, though, is the one he got into about a month or two later with one of his classmates. He told Shouyou he was lucky for not having a dad because of some petty reason. It hit him hard, so Shouyou hit him harder. That time he actually got in trouble, and had to walk home early with a black eye and a bloody nose. His mom was disappointed.

That was the day he started to hate school. And for a long time, he blamed his dad.

Shouyou met Kenma about a year later, and he remembered it was a few days after he turned fourteen because he was wearing his new volleyball shoes. He was supposed to be at school, but somehow he found his feet leading him to a different direction, and he let them carry him away. It really wasn’t the first time he skipped school in the passing year, but it was the first time he didn’t just walk around the streets with nothing to do and no money to spend. He did have some money that time, but instead of spending it on junk food and candy he found himself heading to the nearest bus station.

Kenma was already sitting on the bench when Shouyou got there, looking like he had been sitting there all night. He looked tired. All he had been wearing was a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, so Shouyou asked him if he wasn’t cold. Kenma told him that he was fine, but he didn’t look up at him and it was pretty obvious that he was lying.

“I’m Hinata Shouyou,” he said then. “Do you want my jacket?”

For a moment he just looked at him like he was crazy. Then he dropped his eyes to the floor again, avoiding Shouyou’s. “Ah… no, it’s fine.”

And then they fell silent.

When the next bus drove by they both went on it, and they both stayed on it until it got to its final station. At that point Kenma got off, and when he did Shouyou did as well, and walked with him. He talked to him for a little while, about magic tricks and video games and whatever came to mind, just because he had nothing better to do. He told him about a caster he saw perform on TV the other day and about his favorite magic tricks, and Kenma just hummed in response. 

It took him a few minutes before he started talking too. 

At first all he said was that he’s going to his friend’s house, but after a moment he added that he skipped school for the first time that day, for no real reason, just because he didn’t want to go.

When they got to another bus station they stopped. Shouyou had to get back before the school day was over, before his mom would start wondering why he’s not home yet. He apologized to him, saying that maybe they’ll see each other around sometime, before he cut him off. “Kosume Kenma. That’s… uh, my name.”

“Oh. Umm, nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Kenma said, and Shouyou smiled at him. “I have to go now, but… maybe we can meet at the bus station again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Sure! I’ll be there, I promise.”

“Okay,” Kenma said, doing his best to smile back at him, but he was a bit shy. “See you later, Shouyou.”

And they met the next day, skipping school together for the second time that week. Kenma told him about Kuroo, his really nice best friend, and Shouyou told him about some friends he had out of the city. He told him about the few times he went to visit them in Janmill; about the magic that neither Kenma nor Shouyou were too familiar with but was more than just noticeable in bigger cities. And eventually, Shouyou told him about his dad, and in return Kenma told him about his parents.

Shouyou figured he was pretty lucky for meeting Kenma that day. Being the problematic kid with ADHD and violent tendencies, he didn’t have many friends at school. Not since Tanaka and his sister moved away, at least. And Kenma was quiet and somewhat asocial, with one friend that lived too far away and parents that really couldn’t care less. They were a good match.

When Shouyou first told him about the festival Kenma didn’t want to go. He didn’t really get why, because it was first magic festival in the past two years and missing it would be far worse than missing a single school day. Kenma’s school actually did give the students a day off, so It shouldn’t even have been a problem.

But it was, for some reason.

Shouyou felt kind of guilty, to be honest, because he kept insisting on it and he didn’t really know if Kenma wanted to be there or not. He didn’t know if he liked Tanaka and Saeko, or if he felt comfortable being in a house he wasn’t familiar with. He wasn’t sure if he’ll enjoy watching the street casters or if he’ll just pretend for his sake. He didn’t want him to pretend.

When the sun went down and casters were getting ready to perform on TV and Shouyou just wanted to go already, Kenma fell asleep again. Shouyou tried grabbing Kenma’s foot and pulling him away, but Kenma just whined and kicked him in the stomach. Shouyou pouted at Kenma, but that didn’t work either, so he sighed and walked out of the room and to the kitchen.

Saeko was sitting at the counter and sorting through some of her bottled potions when he walked in and pulled out a glass from one of the shelves, filling it with water from the sink. She didn’t spare him a glance when he looked over, too focused on whatever she had cooking on the hobs. It smelled weird. Probably wasn’t actual food, considering the powders on the dining table and all the schoolwork Saeko had spread across the kitchen. Some of the lucky charms from the living room were gathered to hang above the small window, so Shouyou figured Saeko was trying something she hasn’t done before.

She looked tired, and he should’ve probably stayed away.

“Hey, what are you making?”

Saeko looked up at him in surprise, like she didn’t notice he was there. Shouyou wasn’t too surprised, it wasn’t the first time he walked in on a sleep deprived Saeko. “Oh, I’m, uh...” she said, looking back at her work. “I’m doing some spontaneous experimenting. I wanted to see what happens if I add soy sauce and ginger to all kind of stuff. Nothing happened yet, but it tastes really bad.”

The thing in the pot started making bubbles.

“Can I try it?”

Saeko laughed. “Eh, Better not, really. I don’t wanna call your mom and tell her I accidently poisoned her son. What are you still doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you three be heading out by now?” 

Shouyou looked down at the glass in his hands. It was way too big. Perfect for annoying stubborn lazy cat friends.

“I’m, uh, waking up… uh… Kosume.”

“Kosome-kun?” she raised her eyebrows at him. “You know, it’s okay if you use his first name. It’s not like I’m planning on enslaving people any time soon,” she smiled, picking up some sugar packages and pouring them into the bubbles. Shouyou didn’t know any potions that required sugar, so he decided to back off a little.

“Just in case,” he said.

Saeko snorted. “If I knew that kind of magic Ryu and me wouldn't have been here, believe me.”

Shouyou didn’t know what she meant by that. He didn’t want to ask, really. He was probably better off without it. He knew, more or less, about what happened before they moved to Janmill. Mostly about the money problems, some about the trouble with Saeko’s choice of study and her parents disapproval. Tanaka had told him about that, if nothing else. Told him that if their parents won’t support her, then he will. They both wished there was an easier way.

Illegal magic was frowned upon, but not everything about it was oh-so-dangerous. It was fascinating, really. Shouyou thought so, at least. Name stealing was an interesting concept. Taboo and dangerous, he knew that. He wasn’t that stupid. But it was such strong magic, not many people could master it.

“It’s not that uncommon around here, is it?” he asked.

“Name stealing? Nah, stuff like that happens all the time in cities like Janmill. Not in this neighborhood, though. Don’t worry.”

“I always thought it was interesting.”

“Yeah, me too. My dad thought the same when he was studying criminology in uni. Must run in the family, huh?”

“My mom doesn’t like magic. Like, at all.”

“Hmm. I get why.”

“I’m... gonna go wake Kosume.”

“Make sure to check if your designated driver isn’t dead asleep either,” she said. Shouyou nodded with a serious face and walked out of the kitchen, holding the glass close to his chest. Aa an afterthought Saeko yelled after him that if any of them even thinks about touching alcohol she’s gonna kick their asses.

When Shouyou walked back into the room, Kenma was still lying face down on the messy bed. He warned him exactly five times before spilling the water on his head.

 

 

 

The sky was getting a pinkish tint to it by the time they started driving, slowly darkening into a light purple when they got stuck in traffic. And as much as Shouyou wanted to be mad he really couldn’t, because the streetlights lit up and the streets were already filled with people walking their way downtown, charms and cameras around their necks. 

Tanaka had some lucky charms hiding inside his shirt collar as well, and a few fake runes on the back of his hand to get him some free passes to see some famous casters. He gave both Kenma and Shouyou semi charmed metal rings to get them some free luck during the shows, which was probably a good idea since everyone else seems to have brought some magic with them. 

Tanaka was tapping irritably on the steering wheel, frowning at the bypassers outside on the street. He was complaining about the slow nightmare they had to drive through and that they should’ve probably got going earlier to avoid the traffic. Shouyou only half listened, though. He felt like all hell was about to break loose, and he couldn’t wait.

He was sitting with Kenma in the back seats, a silent apology about waking him up with water to the face, but he felt like he was already forgiven. He held Kenma’s hand in his, squeezing it and memorising the shape of his fingers. A ring, but no fake runes. He didn’t want them.

“It’s gonna be fun,” he told him, quietly like it was some sort of a secret, only for Kenma’s sake. For Shouyou it kinda was.

“I believe you,” he said.

“You do?”

“I try.”

They there by sundown. The festival went through most main streets in the city all the way to the city hall, so they couldn’t drive through and had to park a few blocks away and walk the rest of the way.

The streets were lit by floating lanterns, casting red shadows on the ground and the parked cars standing on the side of the road. Different kinds of silhouette illusions and paper decorations were hanging from buildings and invisible strings. Most of them were shaped like snow flakes, but the more impressive ones were dragonflies and fake talismans.

Some floating lights along the way formed animals and children-drawn stars. The most surprising one was the big snake like dragon blocking the view of a few casters, flying low enough to navigate between the people, almost touch, almost burn, before floating up and away. 

The sky was dark and the air was hot, the stars above their head practically gone in the stage lights and magic lanterns. 

It looked like a different city, with magic on the road instead of cars. More noise, more feet, less space. Stage platforms and small tents were scattered along the road like some sort of endless parade. Along with the tents stood the food stalls, selling mostly stuff on sticks from Shouyou saw, smelling like smoke and sugary spicy flavoring. In the crowd they were met with bare skin and quick hands and dancing feet, sliding from one small stage to another . 

Those small performances were mainly improvised and unofficial, the kind that casters got on for a few minutes before switching out. They held out hats and hands to the people watching, either asking for tips or for volunteers, Shouyou wasn’t too sure, and their voices drowned before they got to them.

But he wanted to get to the main stage.

Kenma’s hand was still in Shouyou’s. Tanaka was somewhere next to them, his hand on Shouyou’s back like an anchor keeping him in place, smiling like it’s the end of the world.

They pushed their way through.

Over the heads and bodies gathering around them they saw the first big stage- a few fire casters with flashy clothes and a lot of revealed skin, their hair up and their feet bare. They were too far away to be able to see their faces from the crowd, but it wasn’t hard to notice the makeup and face paint, smeared under their eyes like war paint. They stood in the middle of the stage, facing each other.

Around them drummers stood in position, keeping a fast beat on bass drums, and the people were cheering.

The casters got in in place when the drumming hit the climax, and then stopped. They stood bent over with their arms stretched ahead or resting behind their back in an attack and defence sequence. Two reached their hands over in preparation for spell casting. When they moved, they moved like magic. Limbs and bodies swung around fast, fluid gestures like a familiar routine, before they sent a wave of fire to the center of the stage. Four spells at the same time at the same place, spreading smoke all around.

When it went down one started running, the crowd yelling along with the drums, and the others gathered around, combat moves interlocking together in a weird dynamic dance, arms of fire, fast feet. With every hit there was a retreat, a graceful little thing. But it was bigger than Shouyou and everything he knew. He didn’t know who they were, but he saw similar techniques on tv, knew the hand movements by heart. 

Then he felt a hand pulling hard on his shoulder, and turned around to meet Kenma’s eyes. It was too loud to speak, but he understood. Clinging to each other and swallowed by the noise and the people, they pushed their way through to the sidelines as the casters sent a flock of firebirds to roam through the crowd.

They escaped into a small gift shop tent, empty besides themselves and the woman standing behind a table of runes and free passes to some later performances. The noise and music stayed outside, the air more stuffy and the lights dimmer. The woman smiled at them when they walked inside. Shouyou had enough sense left in him to smile back. Kenma stayed close, Shouyou could feel his breathing on the back of his neck, and the palm of his hand pressed against his.

"I think we lost our third party,” Kenma said.

“It’s fine,” Shouyou answered. He smiled at him, because that was what he did. “He’s never really mad, you know. Also, your hand is sweaty.”

“Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s cool.” 

Shouyou let go of him after another moment and wiped his hand on his shirt, and then on Kenma’s hood for good measure. When he walked up to the display table Kenma lingered behind his back. 

The shop had most of the cheap gift shops crap Shouyou always liked, like boxed spells and key chains and handmade accessories. Mostly there were necklace charms, ones with flower patterns woven into them. It was pretty old fashioned, really, but he still liked it. It was the kind of stuff Natsu loved to wear, and he thought about maybe getting one for her when he goes back home. Turn it into one of their small secrets and make her swear not to tell their mom where he got it from. Natsu liked secrets in a way that most six year olds did, she liked being in on a joke. 

“Let’s stay here until the crowd calms down a bit, yeah?” Shouyou said in Kenma’s general direction, felt him standing by his side after a second or two. Hesitant, but present nonetheless. “I was thinking about buying something for my sister anyway, y’know, so she won’t tell on me if she finds out I’m here. And she usually does, which is just straight up weird. I don’t think we have any blood born psychics in our family.”

Kenma hummed at him, then a second too late realised it was a joke and snorted into his hand. That was enough of an answer for Shouyou and he ended up buying the necklace and a free pass. Kenma bought a bag of jelly beans to be polite. And Shouyou knew he wanted to apologize to him again, about his sweaty hands and everything else that comes with it, but he wasn’t gonna let him. So he talked until his lips went numb and the noise outside came back to drown his voice.

 

 

 

The sky turned darker by the time they started walking through the streets again, if that was even possible. Shouyou had kinda hoped for it to stay the same color of pinkish blue throughout the whole night, but he knew time wouldn’t stop for his sake alone. The lights and lanterns seemed even more vibrant in pitch black, though, and they noticed more and more people walking around with glow in the dark face paint smeared across their skin.

After a few failed attempts of calling Tanaka on his phone they decided to wander through performances and food stalls looking for him, albeit they weren’t really looking for him as much as they were looking for more stages. They knew there’ll only be amature and improve shows until around midnight, but Shouyou hasn’t seen any professional magic since he was too young to remember it, and Kenma was just content to watch him.

Despite himself, Kenma liked the amature shows. It made the magic look anything but artificial. It wasn’t over the top. It was just as human as the two of them were. And in some weird way it reminded him of Shouyou’s plans to run away and travel overseas, nostalgic and familiar. Shouyou had no reason to run away, not really. It might have been some kind of teenage rebellion, or maybe it was just Shouyou being himself, he didn’t know. Kenma himself has been running away for the past few years of his life, but he had nowhere to go.

When they were younger they joked about joining the circus. Somehow Kenma could almost see that becoming a reality.

The last improv stage of the night hosted three different performer units, switching places between themselves when they got too tired to go on. Two of them passed a hat around, but neither Kenma nor Shouyou had any cash left on them. 

The first unit to go up was made out of two casters. They wore clothes that looked like they stole them from a circus, or like they ran away from one. Shouyou could see that. In his mind it was just as true as anything could be. One of the performers was shirtless while the other had a maroon colored vest, and they both wore loose pants and no shoes. Their skin was covered in facepaint and makeup like a mask that went down to their necks, made out of reds and browns and yellows. Shouyou was close enough this time to be able to see their eyes and their white teeth when they smiled down at them. When they started dancing around each other, they were still smiling through their masks.

It wasn’t anything he hasn’t seen before, a lot of elemental casters liked to do stage fights. The only thing surprising was that they went with air and wind when Shouyou was certain it was gonna be fire. They fought like they haven’t practiced it, just went up and let it flow. And the air flew as they tossed it around and moved with it. Only towards the end, when the wind swept to the crowd and almost blew Shouyou away, did he realise that it was too hot to be simply an air spell. One of them must have been using some form of fire casting as well.

When they were heaving too much to continue the two bowed and went off stage. By that time their makeup was washed out with sweat. Shouyou looked at Kenma, who looked somewhere between giddy and feverish, and frowned.

“You okay?” Shouyou asked. “Wanna keep going? Or sit down or something?” Kenma hesitated, but after a moment he just sighed and nodded. So they went to sit behind all the food stalls, where all the tables were full and they had to do with the ground. It was getting cold, but they felt warm.

“Your face is red,” Kenma said.

“Yeah, so is yours,” Shouyou responded with a laugh. “And your hair is messy. And you’re also smiling.”

“Am not. Shut up.”

“There’s no point in lying when I’m sitting right next to your red smiling face,” he said, and Kenma pushed him, smiling still. “How about you just admit that you’re having fun?”

“Why, so you could say you told me so and be a jerk about it?””

“Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me. I told you so.”

He pushed him again, and this time it actually kinda hurt, but all Shouyou could feel was his heart exploding in his chest. It filled him with emotions he couldn’t name. Some distant part of him recognised that he’s never felt this kind of happy before. A more present part felt like throwing up. Before he could do that, though, Kenma spoke up again.

“I think I see our designated driver’s over there,” he said, nodding his head toward one of the food stalls on the other side of the street. And sure enough, there was Tanaka, leaning over the counter and holding up the line behind him. Didn’t seem like he was actually buying anything, just talking with the rather disinterested looking girl on the other side of the stall. “I guess he didn’t see us sitting here.”

"Nope, looks like he’s too busy getting rejected. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Kenma didn’t object, so Shouyou got up and jogged over to where Tanaka was standing. It was always somewhat frustrating when Tanaka refused to step down on a lost cause, but this time Shouyou mostly found it amusing. The saleslady looked like she was gonna punch him the face. The couple behind him seemed to be thinking of the same idea. He might’ve considered leaving him to embarrass himself, but it was a painfully uncomfortable situation to look at even if you were as dense as a brick. 

When Shouyou reached Tanaka’s side he pulled him out of the line, and they stumbled towards the tables. Tanaka looked like he was ready to start a fistfight until he saw who it was who dragged him away, and smiled wide instead.

“I looked everywhere for you little punk,” Tanaka said, almost shouted, shaking Shouyou’s shoulders in a way that didn’t help his growing nausea. Then he hugged him like hasn’t seen him in forever, lifting him up from the ground and making him yelp in surprise. “Ah, I was getting worried about you two idiots! You ditched me after only, like, twenty minutes, what the hell!”

“didn’t look like you were worried,” Shouyou laughed, glancing behind Tanaka’s shoulder at the food stall. The queue kept going a table or two away from them, and a couple people threw glances at them from the line. Tanaka just barked out a laugh, big a heartfelt. 

“can’t blame me for getting a bit distracted, can you?” he said, and put Shouyou back down. He wobbled a bit to the side from landing on his feet so abruptly, and Tanaka put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you okay? You kinda look like you’re about to throw up. You feeling sick?”

The hand on his shoulder helped him stay grounded, but his mind was still spinning somewhere inside his skull and it didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Shouyou shrugged, not really knowing what’s the correct answer. “I dunno,” he said. “It kinda feels I’m so excited my brain can’t catch up with everything else that’s going on. Does that make sense? I have no idea. That can happen, though, right? Feeling sick with, like, excitement or whatever? Like that one time I threw up on my birthday? Actually that might’ve been food poisoning.”

Tanaka looked somewhere between concerned and amused. “It was food poisoning. I was there. You puked on my shoes.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.” Tanaka was still looking at him weird, uncertain, like he was considering leaving and heading back home. But Shouyou didn't wanna ruin his fun, not after they just found each other in the crowd again. They’ve been waiting all year for this. Shouyou’s been waiting his whole life. “It's probably nothing, don’t worry. I just have a sensitive stomach. strong magic can make people nauseous, right?”

Tanaka was hesitant to answer. He looked at him like he expected something bad to happen, some demon to reveal itself, hanged man cards to start spilling from his sleeves. Maybe he just didn’t want him to puke on his shoes again.

“Well, not really… Only if they got directly affected by it or have allergies or something. I don’t think I’ve ever...” suddenly his mouth stopped moving, and the words died on his tongue. “Wait, no, stop talking, look at me-”

“I didn’t say anything-”

“Shut up.” 

Shouyou did as he was told. 

Tanaka looked scared, something Hinata has only seen a handful of times throughout all the years they have been friends. Scared like when Tanaka saw Shouyou for the first time after his father passed away, like when he was told he needed to attend summer classes two years ago, like that time Saeko had such high fever she had to go to the hospital. He grabbed Shouyou’s shoulders and pulled him closer until he was right in his face, and he looked him in the eyes like he was searching for something. 

“You,” Tanaka started saying, but then stopped. He straightened up and looked around them. “Where’s the other one? We have to go, right now.”

“What? Why? What’s wrong?”

Tanaka didn’t answer him. He spotted Kenma sitting on the sidewalk a few feet away from them and rushed over to him, leaving Shouyou to follow after. He didn’t bother greeting him, just pulled him to his feet by his arms and grabbed the sides of his face, looking into his eyes the same way he looked at Shouyou’s. Scared and panicked, only growing more distressed. Kenma looked back at him with surprise until he finally let go of him.

“We’re leaving,” Tanaka said. “Now. I’ve got to… we need to talk with nee-san.”

He didn’t wait for them, just started walking. Kenma looked at Shouyou as if waiting for some explanation, but Shouyou had no answers to give. Instead he followed after Tanaka before they could lose him again, grabbing Kenma’s hand and pulling him along. Kenma didn’t argue, as confused as he looked, just held on to Shouyou’s hand like a lifeline.

Even when Shouyou tried to slow Tanaka down and ask what’s going on, he didn’t stop. His eyes were set straight ahead and his fists were clenched at his sides, he looked so angry people moved without a second thought and let him through. He was like that, when he set his mind on something. When Tanaka got like this, when Tanaka got serious, he just wouldn’t listen. So they just pushed through the crowd for what felt like years, until they were back in the parking lot where they left the car. Tanaka stopped to look for his keys, growing more and more frustrated the more time it took, and the feeling of wrongness filled Shouyou’s chest with uneasiness. He felt like he really was gonna throw up, right there and then, in the parking lot a whole city away from home in the middle of the night.

The festival was still behind them, still bright and loud like everything Shouyou has ever wanted. But it looked like nothing more than colors and noise now. It didn’t look real from a distance. And they were leaving.

“Tanaka,” Shouyou said, dropping the honorific and stepping forward, somewhere between angry and confused and sick to his stomach. When Tanaka didn’t answer he said, “Ryuunosuke!”

Tanaka turned in surprise, and then quickly looked around the empty parking lot, but there was no one there. When he looked back at Shouyou he looked just as mad as he felt. “Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing yelling that in the middle of the street?”

“Why are we leaving?”

“There’s no time for this. Listen, Hinata, there’s no time-”

“I’m not going until you tell me what’s going on.”

He was silent for a second, looked at Shouyou like he didn’t know what to say. But Shouyou wouldn’t budge, and he just looked right back at him. Tanaka blinked. He looked around the empty parking lot again, then took a deep breath that failed to relax his tense shoulders. “Your pupils,” he said. “They’re way too big, your irises almost look black. That’s a shady spell if I’ve ever seen one. We can’t stay here.”

“What?”

“Get in the car. Both of you. Now.”

They got into the car, and they drove away.


End file.
